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Federated Parishes of Sicameon
The Parishes of Sicameon are a long standing unique anomaly within Griffonia, a proto-Syndicalist, federal republic that has never truly been subjugated by the Griffonian Empire nor its splinter kingdoms. Sicameon sits nestled snugly on the Makomo Peninsula and guarded by the Arahno and Snowtop Mountains, a geography that has lent itself to the individualistic minded nation’s defense. The country itself is named for the Griffonian sea goddess Sycaecia, and thusly Sicameon boasts a great seafaring culture, greatly valuing sea bound commerce and maintaining a strong navy, but as a consequence of its relatively laissez-faire economic policy, pirates such as the homegrown Freeholders’ Syndicate have managed to take root in the cracks. Sicameon Pre-978 Formation Of The Federated Parishes Before it was unified as federated parishes, Sicameon was a region filled with squabbling, independent parishes, which each had surprisingly democratic traditions. This all changed when the aging Emperor of the Griffonian Empire, Grover I, led a small task force into the parishes. The decentralized parishes united under the common banner of the Federated Parishes of Sicameon, and adopted guerrilla, defensive tactics to continue to drive back Grover's scouting forces. Grover's War 26 years after Grover I first attacked Sicameon, the Griffonian Empire once again attacked the Federated Parishes, but this time, instead of small scouting forces, they brought a vast army under command of the new, warlike emperor, Grover II. Grover II, desiring eastern supply routes to Cyanolisia and Minotauria, crushed the parishes and established a new Grand Duchy in its place. The democratic traditions of the parishes were crushed by Griffonian might, and the first republic created on the Griffonian continent was ended. Did this mean the end of the democratic dream for the Sicameonese people? Revolutionary Guerrilla Warfare The people of Sicameon were not welcoming to their Griffonian invaders. For decades, they launched revolutions in cities, destroyed Griffonian armories, and assassinated powerful generals and administrators. Even the Grand Dukes themselves were not safe, and when a particularly violent revolution began in Sicameon, Grover III, who had just been crowned months earlier, knew his father's mistake had to be corrected. Just as the Sicameonese were about to take the capital and proclaim the Federated Parishes once more, Grover III announced that the Grand Duchy was officially abolished, and the parishes would be restored. Democracy had come again to Sicameon, but the democracy Grover III had in mind for Sicameon was much more militant. The commander in chief had striking executive powers, and the country was much less decentralized. The Declaration of Independence When the Republicans revolted in 978, Sicameonese independence was quickly declared. So much autonomy had been given to the Sicameonese people during the days of Grover III and Grover IV that many citizens hardly realized any change in their day to day life, but the legislature hailed it as a great struggle against the forces monarchy. With its Republican principles in accordance with those of the Griffonian Republic, the government of Alexander Kemerskai was given Sicameonese volunteers and airplanes as a gesture of goodwill. In 979 ALB, the Republic of Asterion, a coalition of Minotaurs devoted to democracy and determined to free themselves from the Imperial yoke, revolted against Imperial rule. Sicameon's legislature, in the spirit of Republican internationalism and with the failure of the revolution weighing on their minds, voted near-unanimously to support the Minotaurs against Cyanolisia and the Imperial monarchy. While the Asterionese Restoration War did result in the overthrowing of Imperials on the island itself, Cyanolisia was not taken, and the fierce mountain terrain between it and Sicameon led to no further Sicamonese gains on the front. Current State While Sicameon is comparatively very stable, prosperous, and educated as compared to its neighbors, not suffering from economic crisis, famine, brain drain, or a high degree of illiteracy, the Doge and the federal legislature is at a tumultuous crossroads. With the rest of the continent falling into chaos and wars already beginning to ignite, the rather politically weak government of the peasant republic must reach for new power it has never handled before, while managing the legislature’s two main factions: the peaceful, defensive, and harmonic traditionalists; and the more radical elements demanding revenge on their monarchist neighbors, moving into the future.